§ 1918 - Directory of cigarettes approved for stamping and sale
§ 1918. Directory of cigarettes approved for stamping and sale
(a) The attorney general shall develop and publish on its website a directory listing all tobacco product manufacturers that have provided current and accurate certifications conforming to the requirements of this subchapter (the "directory") and all brand families that are listed in such certifications, except as noted in this subsection.
(1) The attorney general shall not include or retain in such directory any brand family of any nonparticipating manufacturer that has failed to provide the required certification or whose certification the attorney general determines is not in compliance with this subchapter, unless the attorney general determines that such violation has been cured to the satisfaction of the attorney general.
(2) Neither a tobacco product manufacturer nor any brand family of the tobacco product manufacturer shall be included or retained in the directory if the attorney general concludes that either:
(A) any escrow funds required to be deposited pursuant to subchapter 1A of this chapter for any period related to any brand family, whether or not listed by such tobacco product manufacturer in its certification, have not been placed into a qualified escrow fund governed by an escrow agreement that has been approved by the attorney general; or
(B) any outstanding judgment, including interest thereon, obtained pursuant to subchapter 1A of this chapter related to that tobacco product manufacturer or any brand family of the tobacco product manufacturer has not been fully satisfied.
(b) The attorney general shall update the directory in order to correct mistakes and add or remove a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family to keep the directory in conformity with the requirements of this subchapter, and the attorney general shall transmit by e-mail or other practicable means to each stamping agent, and to any other entity that registers with the tax department or the attorney general requesting receipt of the same, notice at least 30 days prior to any removal from the directory of any tobacco product manufacturer or brand family.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by agreement between a stamping agent and a tobacco product manufacturer, a stamping agent shall be entitled to a refund from a tobacco product manufacturer for any money paid by the stamping agent to the tobacco product manufacturer for any cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer still in the possession of the stamping agent on the date of the attorney general's removal from the directory of that tobacco product manufacturer or the individual styles or brands of cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer. Also, unless otherwise provided by agreement between a retail dealer and a distributor or a tobacco product manufacturer, a retail dealer shall be entitled to a refund from either a distributor or a tobacco product manufacturer for any money paid by the retail dealer to the distributor or tobacco product manufacturer for any cigarettes of that distributor or tobacco product manufacturer still in the possession of the retail dealer on the date of the attorney general's removal from the directory of that tobacco product manufacturer or the individual styles or brands of cigarettes of that tobacco product manufacturer. The attorney general shall not restore to the directory a tobacco product manufacturer or any individual styles or brands or cigarettes or, if applicable, brand families of that tobacco product manufacturer until the tobacco product manufacturer has paid all stamping agents any refund due pursuant to this section.
(d) The commissioner shall refund to a retailer dealer or stamping agent any tax paid under chapter 205 of Title 32 on products no longer saleable in the state under this subchapter.
(e) A determination of the attorney general not to list or to remove from the directory a tobacco product manufacturer, an individual style or brand of cigarette or, if applicable, brand family is a final agency decision with the same status as an agency decision or order in a contested case under the Vermont Administrative Procedure Act. A tobacco product manufacturer aggrieved by a determination of the attorney general under this section may appeal to the superior court in Washington County, which shall review the matter pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 815. (Added 2003, No. 14, § 1; amended 2003, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 2.)